The Post-WTC Hangover Sets In
The Hangover Sets In
The United States?and New York City in particular?is just beginning a very ugly phase in its history. As the adrenaline from the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 wanes, this country's citizens face an awful, mysterious question: What do we do now? n The situation's not dissimilar, on a micro level, to when a family member passes away. There's the immediate, and distracting, rush of activity: a funeral or memorial service to plan; neighbors loading the kitchen with casseroles; flowers arriving every two hours; the phone constantly in use, as relatives inform friends and colleagues of the sad news; financial ramifications given strict attention; and finally a wake where the deceased fills a room, as people mourn, swap funny and nostalgic stories, maybe have a few drinks and even slip in a bit of black humor.
And then the void.
This past week, the finger-pointing in America started in earnest. Journalists, thrust into a Byzantine story few of them were prepared for, are now foreign-policy experts, reporting that the United States is losing the war against terrorism. Never mind that the military action in Afghanistan is not even a month old, and that President Bush and his lieutenants have consistently counseled that patience is necessary. Here's the current storyline. The Taliban is an inscrutable and persistent enemy; Israel, by defending itself, is proving that militant Muslims-in-name-only have a legitimate beef about Western civilization; babies are the victims of errant bombs; and Osama bin Laden has still not been found.
Sen. Joe Biden made such a fool of himself in a New York speech on Oct. 22 that even Majority Leader Tom Daschle distanced himself from his fellow Democrat's remarks. Biden said: "[A sustained bombing of Afghanistan] plays into every stereotypical criticism of us [that] we're this hi-tech bully that thinks from the air we can do whatever we want to do, and it builds the case for those who want to make the case against us that all we're doing is indiscriminately bombing innocents, which is not the truth."
Domestically, the spate of anthrax discoveries has panicked the nation, even though only an infinitesimal amount of the population is directly affected. The media and Bush's administration are both to blame for this dangerous detour from the main objective of winning the war. The former, because a number of its group have been victimized by the potentially lethal spores, insist on making this worrisome but ultimately secondary by-product of mass terrorism the lead story in newspapers and on tv broadcasts. This has created hysteria and encouraged malevolent Americans to perpetrate cruel hoaxes on people and organizations they don't like. Last week, on a typical day in Manhattan, authorities received more than 300 calls from spooked office workers.
Bush's cabinet and Congress haven't been helpful either. Health Secretary Tommy Thompson, the popular former governor of Wisconsin, looks silly disseminating information about the anthrax menace. It's painful to watch him at a press conference, appearing like a rumpled, small-town mayor instead of a national leader who has some answers. Good thing he lost out to Dick Cheney for Bush's runningmate last year.
Tom Ridge, on a steep learning curve, is already being criticized for his comments. Although no one could be expected to be fully versed in this domestic crisis, without the broad authority he needs to coalesce and direct competitive and bureaucracy-laden security organizations like the FBI and CIA, the once-confident Vietnam vet and Pennsylvania governor now seems like a eunuch. Ridge is in dire need of a bioterrorism expert, not only to educate him but to provide meaningful information to the public. Sen. Bill Frist, one of the country's most valuable senators and the only doctor in that harried collection of 100, is a natural choice, but his presence is vital in Congress.
One of the difficulties we face is that both the media and government are in over their heads on the anthrax/smallpox question. It's akin to Bill Clinton's Justice Dept. persecution of Microsoft in the late 90s, when the government pretended to understand an industry it knew nothing about and, employing the politics of class warfare, demonized Bill Gates, an extraordinary entrepreneur. As a result of that prosecution, the current recession began.
Another serious problem is that much of the country's leadership?such as Democrats like Reps. Cynthia McKinney and Barbara Lee?have no stomach for the loss of life, whether it's a few postal workers, U.S. military personnel or impoverished Afghans. At some point, people have to realize the United States is at war, an awful reality, but one that needs to be objectively considered. I cringe when Bush speaks about "the evil ones," but he's right: Our country's been attacked and there's no longer the luxury of political correctness or self-righteous pacifism.
Sen. John McCain, writing in The Wall Street Journal last Friday, was correct when he said: "War is a miserable business. The lives of a nation's finest patriots are sacrificed. Innocent people suffer and die. Commerce is disrupted, economies are damaged... However heady the appeal of a call to arms, however just the cause, we should still shed a tear for all that will be lost when war claims its wages from us. Shed a tear, and then get on with the business of killing our enemies as quickly as we can, and as ruthlessly as we must."
Who knows if Vice President Cheney was accurate when he repeated, over and over during the past two weeks, that this war might claim more victims at home rather than abroad. But Cheney's not an alarmist. Every time a Red Cross depot or Afghan civilian home is mistakenly bombed, it ought not be such big news. That's a reality of war. Is there any question now that Harry Truman was justified in leveling Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945?
Does anyone read history anymore? If so, people would understand that World War II, although sanitized by Hollywood producers and Tom Brokaw, was not a "clean" war; the Allies killed vast numbers of innocents in their successful effort to defeat the Axis powers. And for all the canonization of FDR, let's remember he was a pragmatic and inspirational wartime president; his duplicity was for the greater good, until, of course, he caved into Stalin at Yalta shortly before his death. It's been said before but bears constant repetition as the nation judges President Bush: Just imagine how Roosevelt's, MacArthur's or Eisenhower's image would've suffered if subjected to today's all-day, all-night media coverage.
After working nonstop since Sept. 11, Bush would be smart to take a day off at Camp David to chop wood, go fishing, shoot birds?anything that'll clear his mind and replenish the intensity of the superb resilience he'd demonstrated until last week. Reading to schoolkids is best left to the First Lady or Rod Paige. Soon it'll be time for the President to address the nation once more, perhaps again at the Capitol. He ought to ditch the propaganda campaign aimed at the Muslim world?one we'll never win?and speak in very blunt terms.
Yes, as in any armed conflict, there will be nonmilitary casualties, but the United States did not start this war. Bush should put Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, those ingrate nations, on notice: cooperate or don't be surprised if our country has to take over your oil fields in order to win the war. And he should also put Israel in the forefront, like Britain, as an ally that's justified in its current retaliation against Arafat's robots.
This administration doesn't have to kowtow to Arafat like Bill Clinton did. Consider what the lifelong terrorist said on Saturday in Gaza: "Despite [Sharon's] continuous attempts that he imagines he could by his warplanes, tanks or missiles force our people to kneel, I would tell him storms would never shake mountains." No doubt he'll be the next Nobel Prize winner for that poetic statement?which would trump Kofi Annan's wacko award this year?but let's face facts: bin Laden might take a while to find, but Arafat is far more accessible and must be assassinated immediately. Bush also has to mobilize the armed forces for a protracted war with Iraq. Anyone who demands evidence that Saddam Hussein isn't implicated in the tragedy of Sept. 11 is consulting with imaginary friends.
The most optimistic op-ed column recently is that of the sensible William Safire's in Monday's Times. He wrote: "I believe the current alarmism is mistaken. The Sept. 11 attacks will lead to missile defense, suitcase-bomb defense and the systematic destruction of terror networks and regimes. The anthrax mailing and subsequent fears will be countered by breakthroughs in immunology and an invigorated public health system. Victory in the war on terror will inspire and finance a campaign to wipe out all infectious disease." His minor-league Times colleagues, entertainment columnists Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich, must've had to reach for a breakfast of Oreos and extra-fat ice cream after reading that.
Then there's the Blame America First cabal?The Nation, West Wing's loathsome Aaron Sorkin, half the population of Berkeley, Mark Crispin Miller, Eric Foner, Barbara Kingsolver, Paul Begala and the lunatic antiglobalization crew, just for starters?which is unsuccessfully attempting to rally naive citizens into believing slogans like "Bush's War," but in the context of today's politics, they're just irritants. If these malcontents are so disgusted with the United States, why not lower their blood pressure and emigrate to another country?
Locally, the city's in one fat mess. The prospect of Mark Green becoming mayor on Jan. 1 is truly depressing: he's pretended it's Halloween for months now, with his moderate mask on, but a middle-aged hack politician, steeped in liberal ideology, is unlikely to change his core beliefs. Aside from Green's offensive statement that he'd have performed as well as or better than Rudy Giuliani during the aftermath of Sept. 11, there's no indication that his tenure will differ much from David Dinkins', especially given the enormity of the city's problems. Higher taxes, a rapprochement with unions, more bums on the street and an antibusiness climate is what New Yorkers can expect.
Not that Mike Bloomberg is much better. Gun-to-head, I'd pick him over Green, but Bloomberg diminishes his well-deserved entrepreneurial reputation every time he opens his mouth, whether it's calling Green a Stalinist, criticizing Giuliani's style or emphatically boasting that he's a liberal. That's a sure way to keep Republicans at home on Election Day.
Here's another Bloomberg doozy, reported in the Oct. 19 Daily News. Michael Saul writes: "'We deal with 100 national governments. We deal with 50 state governments," said Bloomberg, the billionaire founder of a financial communications company. 'I have more experience in dealing with governments than probably anybody in the whole world.'"
The city's fiscal debacle is rapidly creating a dog-eat-dog mentality. Just the other day, I got a call from a nasty Verizon representative saying our phone service would be cut off the next day because I was a month in arrears on my account. She then hung up. As it happens, I'm vigilant in paying creditors on time, but in the chaos of the past seven weeks I'd kept my Verizon bill in my pocket, along with my passport, to prove my identity and residence when confronted by cops at the numerous blockades in Lower Manhattan.
I was furious and immediately called a superior at the company, explaining where I lived and wondering how in the world Verizon, which suffered tremendous damage to its facilities on Sept. 11, could threaten customers as if they were deadbeats. This woman was understanding, removed the red flag for service cutoff from the account and apologized for her colleague's behavior.
Not even an hour later, I was upbraided by a credit-card company?MBNA, for your information?because my balance of $111 was overdue. Studying my checkbook it was clear a payment was mailed three weeks prior to this uncalled-for scolding. You'd think this anonymous clerk from God-knows-what cubicle in another state might realize that something occurred in New York recently, and that the sorting of mail here, notoriously slow in the best of times, is now almost paralyzed. I recognize that cash is king, no matter the size of the company, but do decent manners have to join the vast numbers of people and businesses that perished on Sept. 11?
No one's minimizing the fear of postal workers around the country?the insult of taking second-fiddle to congressional canines is appalling?but the flurry of threatened lawsuits and work stoppages is not encouraging. Just as the military, police and fire departments are expected to perform their suddenly far more dangerous jobs, occupations they chose, so must postal workers continue to work. History has intruded upon the complacent United States and it affects almost every citizen in varying ways: if the clerks and carriers feel unfairly victimized or are paralyzed with fear, they ought to resign. They'd be replaced by the growing number of unemployed within 24 hours.
Go Snakes!
I've had it up to my chinny-chin-chin with the nonstop bleating that the Yanks are "America's team." There's no doubt that Yankee Stadium has provided a mass therapy session for fans in the New York environs, and the palpable emotion in the stands is wondrous to behold. I love the seventh-inning rendition of "God Bless America" (even though "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" is a more appropriate anthem at this point) and the American flags stitched on every contestant's hat. But please, hold off on sainthood for the players themselves. The Yanks might win another World Series, but that has nothing to with the Sept. 11 terrorism. (Even though the D'Backs have a two-to-none lead at press time, I won't rest until the final out; Yankee comebacks are so numerous it's depressing even to think about.)
It's all about professionalism: Derek Jeter's "shovel" relay in the third game against the A's was simply the finest defensive play I've ever seen; Roger Clemens (aka Mr. Hamstring), Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, among others, are true athletic stars. And first-base coach Lee Mazzilli's local accent is music to my ears.
For those with any interest in baseball, the postseason playoffs have been a relaxing diversion from the reality of a city turned upside down. But I refuse to hop on George Steinbrenner's wagon: I'm a lifelong Red Sox fan and am pulling for the Diamondbacks to win the Series. It's distressing to read Boston sports columnists join the club: The Globe's Bob Ryan, always the first to wave the white flag, was especially irritating in his Oct. 17 column. He wrote: "You know what? To hate the Yankees, you've got to be pretty stupid... You've got to be one sick, twisted, demented puppy to claim to love baseball and then turn around and say you hate the Yankees. Why? Just because they play in the Bronx? Get over it!... Hate the Yankees? Nah. If you love baseball, you should be thanking them."
No way, no how. By Ryan's weird logic, I'd better consult my veterinarian, since I'm a "sick, twisted, demented puppy." Understand that it's the New York franchise, and Steinbrenner, I root against every year: Alfonso Soriano is a budding superstar; Rivera might be the coolest player on any professional sports team; Bernie Williams, Jeter and Tino Martinez seem like pretty nice guys. (Martinez, by the way, one of the Yanks' best clutch batsmen over the past five years, will be cashiered by Steinbrenner in the off-season as he pursues free agent Jason Giambi. Typical. My hope is that Tino is bitter enough to sign with the Sox.)
An Oct. 27 Globe editorial was almost as nauseating. Read this baloney: "Go New York! The cheer arises from an untapped well deep within the psyche of Red Sox Nation. The voice sounds strange but feels exactly right. The World Series begins tonight, and the Yankees must win their fourth-in-a-row enchilada grande... The show up in the Bronx says we will survive the horror still smoking in lower Manhattan. The Great American Pastime is now a symbol for America itself, and the Yankees are the team from ground zero. So, Diamondbacks: FuhGETaboutit!"
I'm with Red Sox diehard Jonathan Schwartz, a Manhattan radio personality, who told a New York Times reporter last week: "I find [the Yankees] on any level and at any time irrevocably loathsome. I swear to you. For no reason do you suddenly feel the opposite emotion of what you have experienced your entire life... That you've seldom gone to bed in all those decades when you did not know the Red Sox final score. New York's tragedy was a national tragedy. Not only is it a national tragedy, it's a Boston tragedy."
Junior and I are attending the crucial third game of the Series at the Stadium on Tuesday night: here's hoping that Clemens can't get the ball over the plate and leaves in the fourth with a hangnail. (The best take on Clemens' postseason performances was written by Baltimore City Paper's Tom Scocca. His column can be found at www.citypaper.com.)
Here's something else to consider. During the Paul McCartney-organized benefit on Oct. 20, when a parade of local sports stars came onstage to the thrill of the crowd, the only current Yankee who bothered to attend was Joe Torre, who brought along the young son of a slain firefighter. Where was the rest of "America's team"? Maybe sulking after losing that afternoon to the Seattle Mariners. If the Yankee stars, like Jeter, Clemens, Jorge Posada and Paul O'Neill, had any deep sympathy for the WTC victims and their families, they'd have made the short trek to Madison Square Garden. Maybe Steinbrenner's "class" is contagious.
OCT. 29
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